370 
the cottage gardener. 
Makcii 11. 
cut one or more off. Pot in small pots, and water 
moderately at first, till the roots advance in growth, 
I when more may be given, but they should never be kept 
I very wet. 
Cyrtopodicms are increased in the same way as Cata- 
setums (which see). They will grow much more freely 
if plunged in a gently-heated bed of tauner’s bark. 
Dendrobiuji. —This is another very large genus. In 
j it are plants that increase readily by side-shoots towards 
, the top of the long pseudo-bulbs. These should be cut 
off with part of the stem of the old bulb, and be laid to 
dry for a short time; then put three or four in a pot, 
water very moderately till they begin to grow afresh, 
and afterwards treat them exactly like the old plants. 
They quickly make fine flowering specimens. I), cal¬ 
ceolaria, D. nobile, and their allies, are easily propagated 
by these means. There are, however, several species 
that do not push forth young shoots on the old pseudo¬ 
bulbs, such for instance, as D. albo sanguineum, D. 
miplum, D. Oambridgeanum, D. formosum, D. anosmum, 
D. speciosum, and others. All these must be increased 
by division. It is safer to place the back bulbs that 
are taken off’ upon blocks at first, till they have made 
their first growth, adding a little green moss as soon as 
they begin to push forth shoots and roots ; then, when 
the newly-made pseudo-bulbs are perfected, and have 
had a season of rest, pot them and treat them like the 
established plants. 
Epidendrum. —Also a large genus ; easily propagated 
by taking off two of the back pseudo-bulbs, placing them 
upon blocks without moss till they have made their first 
new pseudo-bulbs, then pot them, and treat them in the 
usual way. Two, E. bicornutum and E. vitellianum, are j 
rather difficult to increase, but they are the most beau- j 
tiful of the whole genus. To increase these, follow the 
same method as that described for the small, rare 
Cattleyas. T. Appleby. 
(To be continued.) 
ON THE SHOWING OE DAHLIAS. 
As in some of the localities where this spendid flower is 
shown, the gentlemen, and many of their gardeners, wonder 
how it is that their flowers make such a poor figure by the 
side of some from the dealers, it may be well to apprize them 
that the growing of them in the ordinary way, and in gardens 
where they are to be ornamental, is but one step out of three 
that are necessary to the production of flowers according 
to the present taste. The cutting of the plants into half- 
skeletons, that the few flowers produced may be larger, is 
but another; but the most important is the manufacture of 
the flower after it is grown. Every petal, in some instances, 
and a great many in all cases, is coaxed more open by means 
of a pointed dresser, something like the end of a vent-peg, 
which is gently press'd into even a quilled petal, and there 
wriggled about to form the mouth wider, and pressed down 
all round the sunk middle, that it may be less sunk ; and a 
dexterous person, by these means, will make a strange ) 
alteration for the better in a flower scarcely showable, or not 
showable at all as it would grow with a gentleman. Seed¬ 
lings so mauled have been exhibited in such condition as to 
take general attention, and, when bought and grown, to give 
general disgust. We know of no way to prevent this in¬ 
genious manipulation, unless the judges will examine very 
minutely, to see the bruised and split petals. But as none 
but cupped petals will bear this mechanical improvement, 
those who rely on disguising flowers will never willingly 
encourage a reflexed flower. Princess JRadzville, which 
everybody is obliged to show if he can, was unpopular 
among flower-dressers on that account. The Dahlia King 
is just such a flower, but another colour, and an improve- 
j ment; and although it could win among crimsons, and even 
j come in first of its class in Lancashire, where people show 
flowers as they grow, some of the best flower disguisers will 
not even insert it in their catalogues. If by this they fancy 
they can so far carry their point against reflexed flowers as 
to monopolise the field for those that will bear manufacturing 
into good shapes, they will find that the trade will be much 
more damaged by the attempt to put down reflexed flowers 
than the flowers themselves. Nobody in his senses (if he ' 
admits the propriety of the tests now universally applied in 
the properties of flowers) will attempt to dispute that an 
honest cupped flower, with its centre well up, will heat a 1 
reflexed one, hut this has yet to be obtained; accident j 
sometimes produces a centre well up in a flower not gene¬ 
rally so, but very seldom ; nearly all are, more or less, sunk, 
or kept until the opening centre is a jumble of upright j 
petals. As, however, the Dahlia King gives a good outline, 
a perfect centre, abundance of close petals symmetrically 
disposed, without any trickery or management, and wants 
nothing but good growing, and, moreover, as its healthy 
increase has placed it among the most plentiful and cheap 
of last year's flowers, we recommend everybody, showers or 
not showers, to grow at least a plant, and after fairly trying 
it point by point with any other dahlia, to candidly confess 
whether it is better or worse than Princess JRadzville as a j 
reflexed flower, and whether he can find any one in his 
collection with a better centre, a more symmetrically dis 
posed face, a better outline, or a more perfect form, as 
two-thirds of a ball. But those who can change a cupped 
flower not worth twopence into one fit to show, by patience 
and perseverance in opening petals which never will open 
of themselves, hate the Dahlia King as they did Princess I 
Badzville, because they cannot he improved by dressing. Let ! 
tli<5 judges do then’ duty in turning out bruised and split petals, 
and let societies avoid appointing manufacturing florists as 
judges; let genuine taste for compactness and form take the 
place of coarseness and size, and hundreds of gentlemen who 
will not condescend to do anything that changes the flower 
after it is grown, will not only grow dahlias, but will also 
enter the lists. But now all the chief winners at the great 
shows win by arts which are as disreputable to the florist, as 
the plating of an article to pass for silver would be to a 
jeweller. Custom has made the offence venial, but it is 
nothing more nor less than disguising a flower not worth 
growing to make it sell for a good one, whereas the buyer 
can never produce it as he saw it when lie gave his order or 
made his note. 
To enable us to show a good variety, a stand of dahlias 
ought to be of three sizes ; the back large, the second row 
medium, and the front row smallest; and we hope societies 
will see the necessity of appointing amateurs and gentle¬ 
men’s gardeners for judges, for they will not be interested 
in continuing a taste which throws the prizes, as well as the 
trade, into wrong hands. 
Auricula Seeds (Apex). — We will try a few; but we 
have several times devoted a frame to seed presented to 
us, and never obtained a reasonably good one. The 
bloom sent is the old Cheshire Hero, long since dis¬ 
carded from good collections. 
Forced Roses (R. T.). — G'eant cles Batailles. There 
is no doubt of its being true, but you must not expect 
the brilliancy in moist heat. The other is Crimson Per¬ 
petual, alias Lee's Perpetual, alias Rose du Roi. The 
blind shoots have been caused by too sudden a change 
from cold to heat; it is not the dealer’s fault. Wilkin¬ 
son, of Ealing, has dormant buds. 
Roses (IV. S.). —If the rose plants in pots will not 
support themselves now, what will they do with the 
flowers on ? They must be propped, and tied, and sus¬ 
pended, and then, if we happen to be judge, they will 
be excluded; grow everything naturally, and do not 
depend on artificial training. The Cineraria is noticed 
among these flowers. 
Cinerarias (U. 8 .).—All but one, common border 
flowers, gay, but good-for-nothing. A 1(5, more likely to 
become useful, but we must see a truss before we can 
say much. The old ones are Queen of England, and 
Mademoiselle Sontag. (Mr. Smith). —A good score years 
behind the floral world, nothing worth a place, the raiser 
should throw every one he has away, and order half-a- I 
dozen of the best from London, with seedlings from 
them, he might do some good. (M . D., Hull). —No. 1, 
